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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27281152">Beyond Hope</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadamBiscuit/pseuds/MadamBiscuit'>MadamBiscuit</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Dragon Ball</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Dark, M/M, ZamaGito, ZamaVege, ZamasuxVegetto, ZamasuxVegito, ambiguous - Freeform</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 16:42:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,152</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27281152</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadamBiscuit/pseuds/MadamBiscuit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>The fight between Vegetto and Fused Zamasu takes a turn for the worst when the god grows increasingly upset and desperate.  Vegetto tries to maintain his confidence and his hope for a win, but what is he supposed to do against an enemy who is immortal?  Immortal . . . and absolutely insane.  (DARK - Fused Zamasu x Vegetto)</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Zamasu/Vegetto, Zamasu/Vegito</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>38</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Beyond Hope</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>WARNING:  This story is dark.  It contains graphic descriptions of violence and non-consensual touching.  There is nothing romantic whatsoever.  If you find these things too disturbing, please do not read any further.  You have been warned.</p>
<p>Note:  This was written for Fused Zamasu Day 2020.  I’ve taken a few liberties here to make the scenario work.  This Zamasu is regular fused Zamasu – not corrupted.  Vegetto’s fusion lasts the full hour.</p>
<p>Cover image was created especially for this story by @HYDEOVER9000 on twitter.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    
<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>
    
  </p>
</div><p> </p><hr/>
<p>The fight had started out well enough.  Goku and Vegeta had fused into the Saiyan warrior Vegetto to take on the fused immortal god Zamasu.  The last time Vegetto had appeared, his fight against Buu had been completely one-sided.  This time, however, it was an even match.  Just when you thought one had the upper hand, the other would strike him down.</p>
<p>Trunks, Gowasu, and Shin all watched from behind a pile of rubble as the two powerful Potara fusions fought relentlessly.  Even if Vegetto was arguably more powerful than a god of destruction at this point, would it be enough to take down Zamasu?  Was it actually possible to stop an immortal enemy?  Zamasu was unlike anyone they’d fought before.  Even in their most hopeless situations, it had not been as hopeless as this.</p>
<p>. . . and little did they know just how much worse it was going to get.</p>
<p>With the god right where he wanted him, Vegetto fired off a Final Kamehameha, sending a most impressive blast barreling toward the Kai that would surely disintegrate him down to the very last atom.  Even if he was immortal, could he really come back from that?</p>
<p>Trunks and the others ran out from behind the rubble, their eyes wide and hands clenched into fists with excitement while waiting for the dust to settle and the smoke to clear.  Was that really it?  Was that the end of Zamasu?</p>
<p>But Vegetto did not take his eyes off of the spot where he’d last seen him.  He knew better than to let his guard down now.  The most troublesome thing, though, was that even though Zamasu could sense <em>him</em>, <em>he</em> could not sense Zamasu.  Damned god ki.</p>
<p>The fused Saiyan listened carefully and remained alert, his muscles twitching in anticipation to deflect or block an attack if necessary.  There’s no way this was over.  How did they expect him to kill someone who couldn’t be killed?  Wasn’t this fight a bit unreasonable from the start?  But he would do his best.  He’d fire everything he had at this crazy bastard in hopes that something would be enough to cut through immortal flesh.</p>
<p>“Heh . . .”</p>
<p>Vegetto lowered his stance at the sound of that small bit of . . . laughter?</p>
<p>“Heh . . . hahaha . . . hahahaha . . .”  It was most definitely laughter, but it was strange.  Laughter and . . . crying?</p>
<p>The smoke and debris finally cleared and revealed that Zamasu was, in fact, still standing without so much as a scratch on his body or a tear in his clothes.  Just seeing him look so pristine while Vegetto was covered in scrapes and his clothes were in rough shape . . . it was frustrating.  Had everything he’d done so far been for nothing?  Was there not any effect whatsoever?</p>
<p>But Zamasu was crying, now.  That was something different.  He had tears streaming down his face and his movements were off-kilter. </p>
<p>“Mortals . . . why?  Why do you fight me?  I just want to save all of it.  I want to save this world.  I want to save all of the worlds.  I’m doing this for the universes.  Don’t you see that?”  He reached up with both hands to touch his own face, seemingly to wipe his tears away, but instead dug his nails into the skin just beneath his eyes and raked them down his cheeks.  It was only for a second before his immortality made reparations, but something about the action of him clawing at his own skin made Vegetto cringe.</p>
<p>“You’re insane.  You aren’t helping anything by doing this.  You’ve done more damage than could ever be fixed.”  Why was he even bothering to talk with this guy?  He was beyond anything that could be resolved with words.  “Trunks!  Take the others and go with Bulma and Mai!  It’s not safe here!”</p>
<p>“What!?  I can’t just leave you here!  What if something happens?  I can help you fight!”  Trunks reached back for his sword, but a sharp glare from Vegetto made him halt his actions.</p>
<p>“I said <em>go</em>!  I can’t even beat him!  What makes you think you could?  This guy is immortal and he’s crazy!  I’m not going to let you throw your life away!  I’ll meet you at the time machine!  If I can just get him off of us for long enough, we can get away from here!”  He couldn’t beat him.  It was unrealistic to think so.  They’d just have to run away.  All of the mortals had already been eliminated, right?  So then why risk their lives to save no one?</p>
<p>“Just . . . just leave?  Leave without defeating him?”  Leave without killing the god who killed his mother?  Who killed so many people who had survived through so much up until now?  Just let him have this timeline?  Just . . . let him win?  “Vegetto, we can’t do that!”</p>
<p>“Trunks!  Maybe there will be another plan someday, but for now we need to-“</p>
<p>“Irritating!”  The god in question lifted a hand, his index finger pointed at Trunks in particular as he fired a small blast of ki in his direction. </p>
<p>“Shit!”  Vegetto acted quickly and shoved Trunks out of the way.  He’d also done his best to move out of the range of the blast, but it grazed his right side, sending pain and a burning sensation shooting up and down the length of his body.  “Ahh . . . damn . . .”</p>
<p>“Vegetto!”</p>
<p>“Just . . . go!  I need to focus on distracting him before my time is up.  I only have an hour in this world.”  Vegetto furrowed his brows and then turned to face Zamasu so they wouldn’t be surprised by any more blasts.  “We have to do what we can for now!”</p>
<p>Without another word, Trunks flew away with Gowasu and Shin to rejoin the others.  He could sense Trunks’ frustration – he was frustrated himself.  He was never in the world for long, but he’d only ever known confidence.  He’d crushed his only other enemy and toyed with him.  This one, though . . . what kind of fight had they picked?  A fight with an immortal potara fusion god?  This was some kind of nightmare scenario.</p>
<p>Zamasu watched as the others flew off.  Vegetto thought for sure he’d try to attack them, but he did no such thing.  “Even if they fly away now, I’ll only kill them later . . . after I’ve killed you.”  Zamasu’s bored expression twisted into a grin as he tilted his head to the side.  “This is the final act, mortal.  The final act of the Zero Mortals plan we worked . . . <em>I</em> worked so hard on.”</p>
<p>“You won’t have the last laugh.”  Vegetto held a hand over his injured side.  It was a sizeable wound and he could feel blood running down over his skin and soaking into his clothes.  How bad was it bleeding?  Would it stop on its own?  Fighting with an injury was less than desirable and they didn’t have any senzu beans left. </p>
<p>“All of this and you’re still confident?”  Zamasu grit his teeth, balling his hands into fists briefly before holding both arms out to the side and ascending toward the sky, “Then I will simply beat it out of you!  You mortals . . . you mortals have tried to thwart my plan every step of the way!  You forced my fusion – forced me to unleash the greatest of my strength!”  Orbs of red light gathered behind him as he curled his fingers toward the sky, “And you will pay for it with your life!”</p>
<p>Vegetto quickly moved to dodge the incoming rain of blasts, his hand still holding his injured side as he tried not to acquire any additional wounds.  “Bastard.  You won’t win this!”  Vegetto flew upward through the barrage and swung his leg with a kick he thought for sure connected with his target . . . but it didn’t.  Instead, his leg was caught at the ankle by one of Zamasu’s hands.</p>
<p>“Your certainty is unfounded, Saiyan!”  Zamasu dug his fingers into the Saiyan’s ankle, his eyes widening with the silent threat.</p>
<p>Realizing the god’s intentions, panic set in and he tried to shake his leg free – but it was too late.  Zamasu’s hand tightened around his ankle with a powerful force.  He could feel the small bones of his ankle snapping in several places and all he could do was cry out in pain as the horrible sensation rushed through him, followed by a sort of numbness and a daze. </p>
<p>He’d never taken damage like this.</p>
<p>Snapping back into reality as the initial shock wore off, Vegetto quickly fired off a blast directly at the god’s face, forcing him to release his hold.  How could he have been so careless as to let himself get caught?  Why had this fight taken such a sudden and decisive turn?  Had they not been fighting toe-to-toe just moments earlier?</p>
<p>Recovering quickly, Zamasu let out a laugh as he fired a blast in return, sending the Saiyan warrior back to the ground from their aerial fight.  “Are you even trying anymore?”  The god practically shrieked the words as he slowly lowered himself back to the ground as well.  “Do you still have such confidence, <em>Vegetto</em>?”  He said the Saiyan’s name with such immense disdain, like he truly felt pain just by uttering it.</p>
<p>Vegetto didn’t bother to respond, instead opting to try and hobble away for a moment to recollect himself.  He’d been thrown off by the strike to his side and hadn’t quite recovered from it mentally.  That was the only reason he could come up with for the sudden shift in the fight.  “I can’t fight properly like this.  Get it together!  Clear your head!”  They’d been fighting evenly up until that moment! </p>
<p>But in addition to the wound on his side, he now also had a sharp pain that shot up from his ankle every time he tried to put his foot on the ground.  “Endure it!  This is nothing!”  He flew up from the ground to get his weight off his foot and began to fly toward a group of dilapidated high-rises not far from where they were.  Since it was dark, perhaps it would make it difficult for Zamasu to spot him for a bit so he could pull himself together! </p>
<p>“Are you running?”  Zamasu hovered mere inches above the ground, his lips once more stretched into a grin, “Where will you run to?  Do you really think you can flee from me?  Heh . . . ahahah . . AHAHAHA!!”  Zamasu flew forward, his fingers gripping a handful of hair on the back of Vegetto’s head before he forced the fusion warrior’s face into the ground.  “Ahhh, scream louder.  Louder!  I want to hear you suffer!  Suffer for all you’ve done!  Don’t you wish you’d left my utopia alone?”  The god pulled Vegetto’s head back a bit by his hair and slammed him down once more for good measure before dropping him entirely.</p>
<p>“You had . . . to be stopped!”  Vegetto spat to the side to rid himself of the taste of blood in his mouth as he slowly rolled onto his back.  The impact just now had busted his lip and added several more scrapes and future bruises to the other injuries that littered his body.  “You’re crazy.  You’d have made a better demon than a god.”  Talking shit wasn’t the wisest idea, but he just couldn’t help himself.  Still . . . looking up at him now . . . he really did look like a demon.</p>
<p>The moon shone down above them, illuminating the white of the god’s hair and the red that bordered his clothes . . . and Zamasu stared down at him with wide, unblinking eyes and a grin that stretched impossibly wide across his face.  Monster.  Zamasu was a monster.  At the start of their battle, he’d even thought that this god looked beautiful, but now . . . now something was different.  Something had changed.</p>
<p>“The predator always appears as a demon in the eyes of the prey.”  Zamasu stepped one leg over to Vegetto’s other side and then sat atop his stomach, his hands resting over the Saiyan’s chest.  “I will hunt down every last mortal . . . not only in this timeline, but in <em>every</em> timeline.”  He dug his nails into Vegetto’s pecs, but the man only flinched and pursed his lips to keep from making any sort of sound that indicated he was in pain, “No screams of agony this time?  You are determined to defy me up until the end, aren’t you?”  He chuckled, those silver eyes lingering over Vegetto’s face, “You mortals have defied the gods all along . . . why would you stop now?  But that is fine . . . it would be no fun to simply kill you in an instant.  Humor me.  Try to fight back, run away, dodge all the attacks you can . . . and I will catch you and I will tear you into the smallest of pieces until the last flicker of light leaves your eyes . . .”</p>
<p>“Yeah?  We’ll see about that.”  Vegetto spoke through gritted teeth.  If he could just hold out for an hour, the fusion would come undone and it would be back to Kakarot and Vegeta again.  Those two didn’t stand a chance against Zamasu . . . there was no sense in letting it drag out that long.  He had to do his best to get Zamasu off his trail so they could all escape together.  Though, that comment Zamasu made about killing mortals in <em>all</em> timelines . . . could he really do that?</p>
<p>Zamasu’s eyes narrowed as he suddenly grabbed Vegetto’s injured side and gave it a squeeze.  Vegetto naturally could not help but cry out and raised a hand to blast Zamasu off of him, but the god was quick to produce a ki blade and hold the tip at the Saiyan’s throat, “Do you not understand your disadvantage?  All I must do is threaten your life . . . and you stop.  What can you do in such a situation?”  He laughed through his words, “No matter what is done to me, I feel no pain and I keep no injuries . . . all of your attacks are wasted on me.  You are fighting a losing battle, mortal.  Has that hopelessness sunk in yet?”</p>
<p>“. . .”  Zamasu wanted to see fear in his eyes.  He couldn’t give that to him.  He couldn’t give him that satisfaction, but . . . but what <em>could</em> he do in this situation?  One wrong move and that blade would sink into his throat!  Though if he did nothing . . . wasn’t the end result the same?</p>
<p>“Oh?  No snide remark to that, hm?  Does that perhaps mean you agree with me?”  Zamasu lifted his hand from Vegetto’s side and brought his fingers to his lips.  He ran his tongue slowly up along his middle finger from base to tip to lick away the blood there as he maintained eye contact with the Saiyan.  “Ahhh . . . mortal blood.  This flavor is that of my victory.”  His voice wavered with each word he spoke, mimicking the way his mind teetered on the very edge of insanity.</p>
<p>The god Zamasu was gone.  The god who believed in true justice was gone.  Only this monster, this absolutely insane monster, remained.</p>
<p>“Why don’t you let us leave?”  There was one tactic left to try.  He had to ignore his pride for a moment and be strategic instead.  “Release me and we will leave and never return to this timeline.”  They could speak with Beerus about this and see if he wanted to handle it.  They couldn’t die here.  “Isn’t that what you want?  You want this timeline to be without mortals, right?  So then . . . so then let us leave and you’ll finally have accomplished your goal!”</p>
<p>There was a long moment where Zamasu stared directly into his eyes, that blade still held steady at the Saiyan’s throat.  Was he contemplating the deal?  Surely it sounded good to him since it was what he wanted all along.  That would be the completion of his plan!  There was no purpose in killing any of them if they left on their own, right?</p>
<p>But then that same grin was back on the god’s face, his eyes crescents above his cheeks as he stared down at the mortal, “Oh . . . were you serious?  It is true that I want all of the mortals gone . . . but where is the fun in simply allowing you to leave?  You see . . .”  He rested his free hand on Vegetto’s chest once more, but this time slowly slid it up to his face to lightly caress his cheek in a manner that was suspiciously gentle, “I’ve grown a bit of a . . . taste for slaughtering your kind.”</p>
<p>Vegetto pursed his lips as he tried to bite back his anger, “What you want isn’t justice anymore.  What you want is a bloodbath.”</p>
<p>“A bloodbath for the sake of justice.  Do not confuse my goal.  The very soil upon which you lay thirsts for your demise.  Everything the mortals have done to their worlds for thousands and thousands of years . . . even the greatest amount of agony I can bring upon you is not enough to make up for the suffering of the universes.  The cosmos love when I kill . . . and I love it, too.  I am one with the cosmos.  I am the only god.  I am the one true god!  I am the savior!”  He smiled and laughed at the end, but that expression briefly faltered as if he, too, was questioning what he had become.  “I can do no wrong.  Everything I do is right and just.  And everything you do . . .”  He leaned in close, the fingers of his free hand now lightly resting over Vegetto’s lips, “. . . is sin.”</p>
<p>“You’re absolutely out of your mind.  Can’t you hear yourself?  Even your former mentor is disturbed by what you’ve become.”  He wanted to blast him away, but feared it would be his last moments if he dared to so much as lift a finger.  “Maybe you won’t understand until I beat the shit out of you.”</p>
<p>“That old, ignorant god?  There is a reason I’ve killed him twice thus far . . . he is but a sheep amongst the herd.”  The hand on Vegetto’s lips now moved to this neck, where he drew circles around the Saiyan’s adam’s apple with the nail of his index finger, “To think you still have even the smallest bit of hope left in you . . . even now.”</p>
<p>“Hope isn’t gone until I’m dead.”  Vegetto narrowed his eyes and mustered up the most stern expression he could as he tried to ignore the throbbing pain in both his side and his ankle.  The rest of his body was also aching and he could feel a small trickle of blood from his lower lip.  He himself had not experienced such pain before, but he could remember far worse than this from Kakarot and Vegeta’s memories.  These injuries were nothing in comparison.  This fight was far from over.</p>
<p>“Is that your way of asking me to kill you now?”  Zamasu’s grin faded, “There is no fun in that.  You are the last obstacle remaining.  Why not send you out in a way I can remember for all eternity?”  Zamasu leaned in closer, their faces now mere centimeters apart, close enough that their breath mixed. </p>
<p>Those silver eyes staring down into his own felt like they would burn holes right through him.  They made him even more uneasy than he already was. </p>
<p>“Though . . . wouldn’t it be more fun to kill the others first?”  Zamasu continued, his voice uneven in tone and laced with bits of laughter, “To kill them in front of you while you can do nothing?  All I must do is completely immobilize you . . . would that crush you, then?  Would that kill off this <em>hope</em> that you disgusting creatures continue to cling to?  Hah . . . hahaha . . . especially Trunks.  I want to kill his mother in front of him . . . <em>again</em>.  I want to hear those cries of agony <em>again</em>!  I want to watch the tears run down that pathetic-“</p>
<p>“Shut up!”  With quick movements, Vegetto used Zamasu’s distracted state to shift his neck away from the blade, then used his un-injured leg to thrust Zamasu up into the air before shooting a barrage of ki blasts at him to reduce visibility and force the god to pause while his body recovered.  He had no time to waste!  In an instant, the fusion warrior was back in the air and flying as fast as he could toward the group of buildings he saw earlier.  He had to lose him and get to the time machine!  That was the only way!</p>
<p>But . . . the wound in his side was still bleeding and he was beginning to feel a bit lightheaded from it. </p>
<p>Once within the cluster of crumbling structures, Vegetto leaned up against one of the many walls to catch his breath.  He put all of his weight on his good foot and held his hand over his side once more.  “Shit.  I can’t lose consciousness.  I can’t.  I have to get back to everyone else.”  Would it be best for him to defuse as this point?  Maybe at least one of them could make it back to the time machine while the other acted as a decoy . . . the very thought made his heart ache.  Like hell either one of them would leave the other behind.  “Dammit.”</p>
<p>“Ve . . . ge . . . ttooooo!”  Zamasu’s voice was muffled through the walls of the various buildings, but his tone was haunting just the same.  His voice wavered with laughter as he repeated the name over and over while searching for his prey.  “Where aaaare you?  Vegeeeeetto?  Why are you running?  Weren’t you going to have the last laugh?”  The god laughed.  It was a more shrill laugh than those before it and he sounded like he was right behind the Saiyan.</p>
<p>Vegetto was careful to breathe quietly.  With ears like that, Zamasu could likely hear extremely well.  Did he know where he was?  Was he only pretending to search for him? </p>
<p>
  <em>Don’t panic.  Don’t panic.  You’re supposed to be getting yourself back together.  You’re a powerful warrior.  Enemies are nothing but playthings.  You were evenly-matched with him before!</em>
</p>
<p>But he didn’t have these injuries before.  Not to mention something about the dark atmosphere paired with Zamasu’s increasingly chaotic nature was starting to weigh on him.  This timeline had practically become Hell itself.</p>
<p>“Do you intend to hide until your time runs out?  I heard you say earlier that it is not permanent.”  Zamasu called out to him, his voice ringing out from different areas as he apparently walked around the buildings.  He knew.  He knew Vegetto was in there.  “It’s unfortunate you’ll come apart eventually.  I could have kept you as my pet.  Would you have liked that?  I’d spare you . . . why, I may have even spared the others if you pleased me enough.”</p>
<p>The Saiyan tensed up from his words.  His pet?  Pleased him?  What the hell was he talking about?  No.  He needed to keep calm and not react to it.  This was likely a tactic to get him to show himself out of anger.  So then . . . did he truly <em>not</em> know where he was?</p>
<p>Vegetto leaned his head against the wall behind him and looked up at the sky.  He could see the large moon peeking between the fallen walls.  Even the moon itself looked a bit . . . red.  This whole word- no, this entire <em>timeline</em> was stained red from the slaughter committed by Goku Black and Zamasu.  This fusion of the two had not really killed anyone himself, had he?  Though he held their memories and had an even bigger ego.  That amount of power in the hands of someone who desired universal genocide was most definitely a worst-case scenario.  At this point it would take nothing short of a miracle to get away from here.</p>
<p>He looked around a bit, moving slowly so as to not make any sound.  He could hear Zamasu still calling out and rambling on in that crazed voice of his, but he sounded a good bit further away now.  Was he leaving?  At this point , if Zamasu got too close to him again, the god may be able to hear his heart with how hard it was pounding in his chest.</p>
<p>There had to be some way he could sneak out. </p>
<p>As he glanced around, though, something caught his eyes in the dim lighting.  He wished the lighting had been worse.  Even in the darkness, he could clearly make out a small pile of bodies.  They looked like they had been there for several days if not longer as he could most definitely see bone with flesh.  Some adults, some children . . . Goku Black and Zamasu had killed them indiscriminately.  How could a god of creation go so wildly astray?  What had he seen to make him snap like that?  What had happened?</p>
<p>It didn’t matter.  What was done, was done.  There were no dragonballs to wish it back.  This timeline was virtually eliminated.</p>
<p>His eyes lingered over the corpses for a moment longer before he suddenly realized he could no longer hear Zamasu.  Had he wandered off in search of him?</p>
<p>
  <em>Would he head for Trunks and the others?</em>
</p>
<p>“Shit!”  The moment the word left his lips, there was a sudden loud crash in front of him.  Time seemed to move in slow motion as he watched the crazed god come through the wall across from him, a ki blade encasing his right hand and his left hand stretched out in front of him.  He could barely even process the moment, let alone react to it, and Zamasu’s left hand was around his throat in a flash.  He could feel the nails digging into his skin as the god looked up at him with those wild silver eyes.  Vegetto grabbed at his hand to try and pry it away, but he just couldn’t do it.  He couldn’t muster up even that amount of strength anymore.</p>
<p>“You didn’t even hide your ki from me.  Did you forget I could sense it?  Or did you simply forget to hide it?”  Zamasu grinned wide once more as he leaned in as close as he could get.  That ki blade was still around his hand, but it was held low this time instead of in a lethal position. </p>
<p>He’d forgotten to hide his ki.  How could he have forgotten something so basic?  “Maybe . . . I was trying to lure you in.”  He tried to play tough, but his voice betrayed him as it trembled a bit.  He stared down into the eyes of the god, his own eyes wide out of fear.  He hated admitting it to himself, but . . . in this situation he really did feel hopeless.  Perhaps he should never have sent Trunks away.</p>
<p>“Lure me in?  Why would you do that?”  Zamasu knew the truth, though.  He still wore a smile that looked like a silent laugh as his eyes roamed over the Saiyan’s face, “Dare I say . . . you look absolutely mortified?”  He leaned further still, his chest now pressed against Vegetto’s arms as the fusion warrior still held onto the hand gripping his throat, “I love it.  I love that fear.  It is the finest gift I could ever ask for.  You know, you’ll live eternally within my memory.  Isn’t that quite the honor?  Someone strong enough to fight me for even a moment . . . someone who nearly cost me everything . . . I’ll remember it forever even though you shall perish.”</p>
<p>“Someday I will . . . but today is not that day.”  So then why was he breaking out in a cold sweat?  Why was his heart beating so hard that he could feel it in his face?  Why were his knees threatening to give out?  Well, maybe it was all from the wound in his side . . . “You’re part Saiyan now . . . don’t you like fighting?  Wouldn’t it be smarter to let us go so we can fight again someday?”  As if he’d come back here.  Perhaps after significant training they could come back and finally shut this god down, but . . . immortality was an unbeatable opponent. </p>
<p>“Mortal . . .”  Zamasu’s voice lowered as he released his hold on Vegetto’s neck.  His hand lingered there for a moment longer before it slipped up to his right cheek just as he had done earlier.  “Do you really take me for a fool?  With the immense plan I put together to rid this timeline of mortal life, do you really think I’d be ignorant enough to fall for such a trick?”  He tilted his head, his brows turned upward with mock concern.  “Your goal is to get back to the others and flee forever in the time machine.  Why would I let you do that after everything you and that little mongrel Trunks have put me through?”</p>
<p>Vegetto didn’t have an answer for that.  He hadn’t expected him to fall for such a cheap trick, but it was worth a shot.  At this point, just about anything was worth a shot.  He didn’t have much time for a lot of song and dance, though – his clock was ticking before the time he would separate back into Kakarot and Vegeta.  If that happened . . . if that happened, it would surely be the end of their story.</p>
<p>“Why so quiet?  Just earlier you were so lively.  You made fun of me, called me all manner of nonsense . . . mocked my title as a god.”  He ran his finger up and down Vegetto’s cheek, his eyes watching his own actions, “Yet now you are silent and you are trembling . . . and you look a bit . . . pale.”  His eyes trailed down to Vegetto’s wounded side and the way the blood soaked further into his clothing.  “Wouldn’t it be something if you died before I even had a chance to kill you?  There’d be absolutely no satisfaction in that for me.”  He now gripped Vegetto’s chin in his hand, “We can’t have that, can we?”  His voice was barely a whisper.  He locked gazes with the Saiyan fusion as he slowly stuck out his tongue and ran it up along Vegetto’s chin and to his lip to lick up the blood he’d shed earlier. </p>
<p>Naturally Vegetto flinched, his brows furrowing with unease and uncertainty.  Didn’t he hate mortals?  So then why  would he get so close?  Why would he go so far as to <em>lick</em> him?  “You’re disgusting.”</p>
<p>“Am I?  Or are <em>you</em> the one who is disgusting and filthy for enjoying it?  Tell me . . . doesn’t something about this excite you, Vegetto?”  Zamasu ran his tongue up along Vegetto’s chin again, this time going up and over the man’s lips entirely, “It does, doesn’t it?  Mortal bodies are so vulgar.  They crave such obscene things.”  The ki blade on his right hand vanished and he used that hand to now palm Vegetto’s crotch through his pants, causing the Saiyan to gasp with surprise and instinctively try to pull away, “Just touching you like this . . . you’re already getting aroused.  How filthy.  I am telling you how I will kill you and you are aroused.  What a disgusting and immoral body.”</p>
<p>“Shut up!  I want nothing to do with you!  You’re fucking crazy!”  He tried to muster up the power to blast him away, but just trying to call upon any more strength caused his Super Saiyan Blue form to dissipate entirely.  His hair and eyes both went back to brown and he just stood there in silence.  That was it.  Without that strength, he was absolutely no match for Zamasu. </p>
<p>“Oh?  What happened?”  Zamasu grinned wide again, his teeth and eyes shimmering in the dim light of the moon, “Look how absolutely defeated you are . . . I love that look.  Your eyes . . . they’ve lost every bit of light they had.”  He chuckled, then continued to grope Vegetto’s length, his other hand now roaming his chest as the god nuzzled the mortal’s cheek.</p>
<p>“Don’t touch me!”  Vegetto tried to give him a shove, but Zamasu was quick to grab both wrists and pin them to the wall on either side of his head.</p>
<p>“This is an <em>honor</em>, mortal!  To be touched in such a way by a god!  This will be the last thing you ever do and yet you are angry!?”  Zamasu was trembling a bit himself now, but from what?  Was it really <em>him</em> who desired Vegetto? “I know that filthy body of yours desires me . . . you mortals always lust for the gods.  And here I am, willing to give you just that as the parting gift for when you leave this world . . . and you’re against it.  You’re the worst of all creatures, right up to the very end.”  The god’s chest heaved with shallow, irritated breaths as he pressed his body against that of the Saiyan.</p>
<p>“I want nothing to do with you.  I will have my dignity and my pride forever.  But you . . . look at you . . . a god fallen from grace.  You’re the lowest of the low – not me.”  There was no sense in trying to coerce him any longer.  There was no sense in playing nice in order to live just a bit longer.  He’d come unfused soon enough, but he wasn’t sure what would happen first; death by loss of blood, death by Zamasu’s hands, or death of Kakarot and Vegeta once the fusion came undone.</p>
<p>There was no good scenario.   There was no miracle this time.  There was no happy ending.</p>
<p>“Will you?”  Zamasu practically shrieked as he laughed this time, his body shaking more with anger at the impudence of this mortal, “I will gouge out your eyes so that you may no longer gaze upon me!  I will sever your head from your beaten, weak, pathetic body!  I will place your head upon my mantle like a trophy – with the eye sockets still oozing and your neck still spurting blood!  And your body . . .”  He laughed, this time more of a breathy, wheezing laugh as he was overcome with morbid excitement, “I will carry your bloodied, bruised, headless corpse to that time machine and drop it right into Trunks’ arms as a souvenir!  What wonderful sounds will all of this make, Vegetto!?  I want to hear them!  Let me hear your eyeballs pop in your skull!  Let me hear your strangled cries of agony as you drown in your own blood!  Let me hear the pained cries of Trunks as he holds his father’s lifeless body!  I will hear it!!  I will finally have the satisfaction I crave!!”</p>
<p>Zamasu reared one hand back, his fingers straightening as he manifested another ki blade to likely do all he’d just spelled out, “<strong><em>DO NOT OPPOSE THE SUPREME GOD, ZAMASU!!</em></strong>”</p>
<p>But just as his cry rang out and Vegetto’s eyes and mouth opened wide with pure horror, the god in question suddenly turned his head to look to the side and was immediately sent flying by none other than Trunks.</p>
<p>“Vegetto!!  Come on!  We have to get out of here!”  Trunks did not question the situation or his injuries.  He quickly assessed that the fusion of his father and Goku was gravely injured and so he slung one of Vegetto’s arms over his shoulders and flew off with him.  Once he was out of the crop of buildings, Trunks fired several blasts back at them to make them cave in on top of Zamasu.  “That’ll buy us time.  The time machine is ready to take off right now!  We’ve already set the coordinates for your timeline!  We’re getting out of here!”</p>
<p>
  <strong>“<em>S A I Y A N S ! ! !</em>”</strong>
</p>
<p>Vegetto shuddered as Zamasu’s angry roar filled the night air.  Was this really happening?  Was he being saved at the last moment?  Was this the miracle he thought would surely never come?</p>
<p>As Trunks promised, the others were in the time machine and ready to go.  Shin and Gowasu teleported away using the power of their time rings once they saw the hatch close. </p>
<p>Vegetto defused back into Goku and Vegeta as though his body was holding out until they were rescued.  Both had injured sides and broken ankles, bearing the injuries sustained by Vegetto.</p>
<p>As the machine rose up toward the sky to begin its travel, Goku took one last look at the sky through the glass.  “Heh, the sun here looks really crazy.”  Or perhaps it was his now-blurry vision playing a bit of a trick on him.</p>
<p>“The sun?  It’s still nighttime.”  Trunks followed Goku’s gaze to see this ‘sun’ he was referring to . . . and his blood ran cold. </p>
<p>Time itself felt as though it had frozen and the world had fallen into silence as they all turned their gaze to the giant red and orange sphere held by Zamasu himself.   Their eyes were wide, their jaws dropped in fear.  Where was their hope now?</p>
<p>It was an attack that would likely be enough to destroy an entire planet.  An attack as brilliant and fiery as the sun itself.  And as the time machine rose to its peak position, Zamasu smiled that same crazed and knowing smile, and flipped his hand forward to release the attack.</p>
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